Airbus DS to fast track CUC-T for Eurofighter

A Luftwaffe Eurofighter EF-2000 on the static display at the ILA Berlin Airshow 2026. Airbus DS is fast tracking the development of a CUC-T capability to enable the aircraft to be a command platform for unmanned CCAs from 2029. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Airbus Defence and Space (DS) is working to fast track the operational fielding of crewed-uncrewed teaming (CUC-T) aboard the Eurofighter combat aircraft for the end of the decade.

Speaking at the ILA Berlin Airshow on 11 June 2026, the head of Air Power at Airbus Defence DS, Jean-Brice Dumont, said that CUC-T, also known as manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), is a priority for the Eurofighter operators.

“The demand from the customers is that we be ready [with this capability] early,” Dumont said. “We are going to fast track the timeline so that by 2029 a Eurofighter will be a command fighter – it is a key challenge ahead for us.”

As Dumont noted, the Eurofighter CUC-T effort is centered on the European Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure (MARS) software that will equip both the manned combat aircraft and the unmanned collaborative combat aircraft (CCA). As previously described by Airbus DS, MARS is an open architecture, hardware-agnostic, modular, and scalable system that contains a “software brain” called MindShare, supported by artificial intelligence (AI) to replace a human pilot. Airbus DS announced earlier in 2026 that it was teaming with Kratos Defence and Security Solutions to fly the US company's XQ-58A Valkyrie CCA with the MARS system installed.

For CUC-T, MARS will be supported by the Eurofighter's Rafael Litening V advanced targeting pod, which Airbus DS is enhancing with a connectivity capability.